Fiat Chrysler may have just bricked the infotainment hub in thousands of vehicles

Some users say they were not even given an option to decline the update

When technology fails us, it is annoying, but nothing is more irritating than when the failure is a direct result of developers quietly pushing an update to your system. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is finding out the hard way just how much this ticks people off as they continue to deal with a Twitter storm that started yesterday.

FCA on Monday pushed out an over-the-air update to its Uconnect platform. Unfortunately, the update has caused the system to reboot every 30-40 seconds according to the hundreds of angry customers that have flooded the UconnectCares customer support Twitter account.

Uconnect is the software that drives the infotainment systems in thousands of Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat vehicles. It is particularly frustrating since the platform is used to control the audio system, heating and AC, heated seats, rear-view cameras, vehicle voice assistant and the car’s “SOS” feature.

Certain 2017 & 2018 Uconnect systems may experience a reboot every 45-60 seconds. Our Engineering teams are investigating the cause and working towards a resolution. We will post here as soon as more information is available and apologize for the inconvenience.

Fiat Chrysler apologized and identified that the problem only affects some of the 2017 and 2018 Uconnect systems. The company says engineers are investigating the cause and working on a solution. However, a fix could prove trickier than just pushing out a patch over the air.

While FCA is claiming reboots occur every 45-60 seconds, actual users are reporting a much shorter uptime window of between 30-40 seconds. This means that a centrally-pushed patch will have to be small enough to download and install very quickly.

If this is not possible, then the system will essentially be bricked until it can be physically serviced. It is certain that customers would not take such a solution quietly.